News Releases

Final Enrollment Numbers Show SFPUC Has More Than Quadrupled CleanPowerSF Customers in Past Year

376,000 customers in local energy program represent 360 percent increase from year prior, as enrollment numbers exceed expectations

Posted Date: 7/2/2019 9:45 AM

San Francisco, CA— With the final enrollment of CleanPowerSF now officially completed, more than 376,000 businesses and residents are customers in the City’s local renewable energy program, marking a 360 percent increase from last year’s totals.

The program, which is operated by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), provides renewable electricity services that are cheaper and cleaner than services offered by Pacific, Gas and Electric Company (PG&E).

“With our last major enrollment now officially completed, more people than ever in San Francisco are embracing safe, reliable and affordable electricity services through CleanPowerSF,” said SFPUC General Manager Harlan L. Kelly, Jr. “Our residents and businesses understand that meeting our City’s ambitious environmental goals requires action now. They are leading the path to a better tomorrow for San Francisco.”

CleanPowerSF began its fiscal year on July 1, 2018 with a total of 81,613 businesses and residents receiving CleanPowerSF service. Following the April enrollment period, which was the last and largest major rollout of CleanPowerSF, that total has risen to 376,119, more than a fourfold increase.

The 376,119 total customers exceeded the SFPUC’s initial projection of 360,000 customers, and the opt-out rate of 3.3 percent was below the agency’s 7 percent projection. As a Community Choice Aggregation program, residents and businesses are automatically enrolled in CleanPowerSF, although they can “opt-out” of the initiative.

Since it launched in 2016, CleanPowerSF has consistently offered a cleaner energy alternative to PG&E. In its initial year, CleanPowerSF’s Green product was 7 percent more renewable than the PG&E default product, and for the past two years, the Green service has been approximately 10 percent more renewable. Since its launch, CleanPowerSF’s energy procurement has effectively reduced the greenhouse gas emissions footprint of San Francisco’s electricity usage by 83% from 1990 levels, or the equivalent of removing about 134,000 passenger vehicles from the road for a year.

In addition to providing cleaner energy options, CleanPowerSF also saved those customers $3.5 million by delivering rates that are cheaper than the alternatives offered by PG&E.

Having access to a cheaper, greener energy product is a key priority of San Francisco residents. According to a poll conducted earlier this year, nearly 70 percent of respondents were in favor of the SFPUC delivering public power to the City, citing more affordable rates and cleaner energy alternatives as reasons for their support.

To create awareness about the CleanPowerSF program, the SFPUC sent out more than 1.1 million mailers to residents and businesses, contacted 130 organizations and hosted more than 30 meetings in communities and neighborhoods, along with engaging in targeted multi-lingual campaigns. Those efforts were in addition to the bi-monthly CleanPowerSF updates the agency delivered at SFPUC Commission meetings, which are open to the public and available to view live on SFGovTV.

Along with CleanPowerSF, the SFPUC operates the Hetch Hetchy Regional Power System, which provides 100 percent greenhouse gas free energy to public facilities, such as City Hall, San Francisco International Airport, Muni buses, schools and libraries. Collectively, the two systems meet approximately 80 percent of the electricity demand in San Francisco.

About the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) is a department of the City and County of San Francisco. It delivers drinking water to 2.7 million people in the San Francisco Bay Area, collects and treats wastewater for the City and County of San Francisco, and generates clean power for municipal buildings, residents, and businesses. Our mission is to provide our customers with high quality, efficient and reliable water, power, and sewer services in a manner that values environmental and community interests and sustains the resources entrusted to our care. Learn more at www.sfwater.org.
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